


Something Fake

by SuperSpookyAlienInvaders



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff and Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-31
Updated: 2019-03-04
Packaged: 2019-05-16 14:40:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 15,677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14813325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuperSpookyAlienInvaders/pseuds/SuperSpookyAlienInvaders
Summary: A big business bust leads Link's reputation to nose dive. Obviously the answer is a fake relationship to get people's views on his social stability to go back up. But what's Link supposed to do when he no longer wants the relationship to be fake?OrThe rent-a-boyfriend fic that nobody asked for.





	1. Something Fake

“This is stupid,” Link protested for the umpteenth time as Zelda pushed him towards the stairs.

“Sorry,” Zelda shrugged, giving him another shove.

Link pouted but let her guide him down the stairs by his shoulders. They were dressed up to go to one of the company’s many recruitment galas. Zelda’s floor length deep blue gown swished against the floor as her heels clicked down the stairs. Link tugged at the jacket of his suit; he hated the restricting outfit with a passion, but it seemed to be all he wore at the law firm. 

Link reached the bottom of the marble staircase first and turned to make his way to the door when Zelda stopped him, pulling his hand into hers. 

“Just do this for me, okay?” she said with pleading eyes. “Just until our stocks go up and our clients feel secure again.”

Link wanted to refuse but he’d never denied her anything, and he wasn’t about to change that. “Why can’t it just be you?” he whispered. 

“Because that would only make people worry about the effects of our ‘breakup’. I thought about it, honestly I did, and this seems like the best option.”

“Why did they start hating me now?! I’ve been around for as long as you’ve had the company. Nothing happened in the first two years, why now?”

“They don’t hate you, idiot,” Zelda laughed, letting his hand drop. “This is only happening because some loser who wants to stir up trouble decided to open his big mouth.”

Link rolled his eyes. “Am I really that shady?”

“Well, you never talk or smile when we’re in public, and you always look like you have your guard up. Personally I don’t think it’s that bad, but I guess my personal assistant and manager should be able to hold a conversation at a business party.”

Link sighed, if only he hadn’t brushed off everyone who tried to talk to him or gotten his picture taken once or twice. Maybe then some douchebag wouldn’t have declared that he had a secret agenda and was using Zelda to get the company.

“Remind me why being in a fake relationship will fix this again,” he exhaled dramatically, rubbing his eyes.

“Because relationships show a ton of different things, especially on our level. “Sophistication, stability, socialization. Essentially all of the things that people doubt you have.”

“Ouch.”

Their conversation was brought to a halt when the doorbell rang. Zelda shot him one more apologetic smile before walking past him to let the person in, leaving Link to sulk after her. 

“Hey, come in!” Link heard Zelda greet the person at the door cheerily. His pout deepened. This royally sucked.

Link couldn’t catch the person’s reply over the echoing sound of his shoes on shiny marble. When the front hall was in view, Link nearly stopped because the man who stood just inside the door was definitely more handsome than the pictures let on. He was tall with sunkissed skin and tiny freckles on his nose and dimples that were unfairly obvious when he smiled. His chestnut hair was artfully slicked back, and his suit pressed and clean. His bowtie matched Link’s per Zelda’s request. 

“Sidon,” the man greeted, holding out his hand, a foreign accent tinting the word.

“I know,” Link answers rudely and receives a rather painful nudge from Zelda for it. Link shook his hand hastily. 

“You two should get going,” Zelda said after a moment of awkward silence. “I’m going to wait on my date; we’ll be right behind you.”

Link attempted to send her a pleading look, but he was ushered out the door before he could make it happen. Sidon opened the door of the fancy black vehicle for him, and Link had to restrain himself from rolling his eyes at the gesture. The car started as soon as Sidon closed the door on his own side, allowing for the larger man to settle while already on the move. 

“You look nice,” Sidon offered, trying to start up a conversation in the tense atmosphere. 

“Is she paying you extra for flattery?” Link asked.

“Well, uh, no,” Sidon replied sheepishly, reaching to scratch his perfect neck with his perfect fingers. “I jus—”

“Then don’t bother.” It came out harsher than Link had really wanted it to, but Sidon seemed to get the idea.

The ride dragged on forever without Zelda’s laughter and jokes. Sidon was scrolling through something on his phone, looking over at Link every so often as if he wished to say something to lighten the mood. No words ever got passed his lips though. The driver stopped abruptly at a red light, making Link lean a bit too far forward in his seat. Instinctively, Sidon reached out to brace him as the car rocked backwards again. When Link was safely settled back in the seat, Sidon pulled his arm away without a word, going back to the small device in his lap. Though Link didn’t want to break the silence he’d established with the other man in the backseat, he wasn’t a dick.

“Thanks,” he offered curtly.

Sidon nods with a hum of acknowledgement, making eye contact for a second before looking away. Link turned back to his own phone, scrolling through his Instagram feed until he was bored of it. Turning off the device, he dropped it in his lap. If he was going to learn to socialize, he might as well start now.

“So you’re a prince,” he said cautiously, grabbing Sidon’s attention.

“Was,” the older man told him with a shrug. “Haven’t been for a good ten years now.”

“What happened?”

“I didn’t agree with my father and I made sure he knew it. After a while I guess he just got fed up with me and kicked me out, saying I could come back if I changed. But I didn’t so I was disowned. It was after my sister passed away so I really had no reason to hang around.”

“Why’d you come here?” Link asked, trying to keep the conversation going against his instinct. 

“I had some friends who were willing to take me in overseas. I was just about broke so I worked as much as I could in my own country to get money for a plane ticket. Once I got here, it was no different. No one really cared who I was since I wasn’t royalty anymore; most of them didn’t even know I was ever royalty. I liked that, it was a fresh start.”

“When did you join the military?”

“Oh, you know about that,” he scratched at his neck again. “I had been here almost two years, still working for my citizenship…”

“It took you over two years to get citizenship? I don’t believe that.”

“For a long time, I didn’t intend on staying. I worked all the time and crashed at my friend’s house, trying to get enough money to stand on my own. Then I was going to move on, but somewhere along the way, I changed, I guess. I got an apartment next to my buddy and enlisted in the navy so I could get my citizenship faster. I didn’t expect them to actually send me out as soon as they did. But just about as soon as I was done with training I was stuffed in a submarine. There’s no good way to get a college education from under the ocean, so I took the classes I could when we surfaced and read anything I could get my hands on when we were under.”

“That doesn’t sound horribly efficient,” Link offered with a sad smile. “How long did that go on?”

“Seven years.”

Link’s mouth dropped. Seven! Floating around in a submarine for seven years! He would gone insane. 

“Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed it. There was a ton of stuff to do down there. Reading, drawing, writing, and a bunch more that you could do with the other guys. Plus college is free now that I’m out so I’m going to get all caught up.”

“When did you get out?”

“Three months ago.”

Link fought the urge to let his mouth drop again. Sidon was 28; he knew that, having done his research as soon as Zelda had let the name slip. 28 and just about to start college. The driver pulled into the roundabout drop-off area for the gala. Sidon popped the door open as soon as the car stopped, managing to get over to Link’s side and open the door for him before the younger man had even registered where they were. 

“Ready to give them a show?” Sidon asked carefully, holding his hand up to help Link out of the car. 

Link nodded spitefully, sour mood returning. 

Lights flashed as soon as they enter through the open doors, cameramen and reporters going crazy over the newly proclaimed couple. Link was aware that he wasn’t the most popular person in the company those days, so he did his best to smile for as many of the shots as he could manage before his face hurt. Zelda had briefed him on a quick and easy backstory to give anyone who asked about their relationship’s origin, and by the ease in Sidon’s voice when he answered some questions of his own, he had been told the same. Sidon looked far more enthused about it though, talking animatedly with his hands, eyes alight as he recounted the day he and Link had bumped into each other on the sidewalk, and he’d spilled coffee on Link’s shirt. Link gave Sidon a pat on the arm to alert him that he was going to get a drink. The taller man tried to excuse himself from the reporters but they were persistent. Link was glad to go alone, not particularly fond of having Sidon stuck to his hip. 

“Link! Showing your face again, huh?” A woman’s voice rung from behind him as Link took the glass of champagne a waitress offered.

“Sooner than expected,” he sighed, turning. Socializing was never really his thing, but he’d talked more in the last hour than he’d talked all week. “Ilia, it’s been a while.”

“Too long,” she smiled, guiding him to the balcony where they could talk more easily.

They stood overlooking the perfectly manicured garden as they talked, catching up as best they could in the short time. It was nearly ten o’clock when Sidon finally found them, allowing an exchange of goodbyes before taking him to the dance floor. Link scowled at him.

“What was that for? I was socializing, wasn’t I! I’m doing exactly what I’m supposed to be doing. You weren’t hired to be a dick.”

“You’re right; I was hired to make you look good in public. Standing away from the party, talking to one person isn’t the way to go.”

“And what would a man who’s been stuck on a submarine for the last 7 years of his life know about that?”

Sidon was silent for a second. “Look, I know you don’t like me or anything about this, but I’m being paid to do this so I’m going to do it right. Hate me, fight me on it, I’m going to do what I was hired to do. And if that means you wrinkle your nose every time I walk into the room, so be it. As long as nobody else sees.”

They rocked to the music in silence for a long moment. 

“What time is it? I’m ready to leave,” Link huffed in annoyance once his mouth finally started working.

“We will soon, but first you’re going to go around and thank the rich investors and clients for coming.”

Link nearly groaned like a child, but went about it as soon as Sidon released him from his grip. 

_ ‘For Zelda’ _ he thought as he hugged a busty woman in a tight black dress for coming.

_ ‘For Zelda’  _ he told himself as he shook the hand of a man with a beard longer than his forearm.

_ ‘For Zelda’ _ he whispered before laughing at a joke that hadn’t been funny.

Link downed another two glass of champagne before finally getting back to Sidon.

“Alright, let’s get you home,” the older man said, holding out his hand. 

Link took it reluctantly, not sparing a glance in Sidon’s direction as they left the gala. The car was ready and waiting, Sidon having called ahead right after Link set off to talk to the attendees. The car ride was silent until Zelda called as they were pulling into the Tower’s long driveway. 

_ “Hey! I didn’t really see you around, how’d things go?” _

“Fine, I think.”

_ “Alright, just making sure. Thank your date for me. Oh! And tell him to meet me tomorrow, say eleven or…” _

“Let me just give him the phone.”

Link nudged Sidon’s arm, and the man woke from where he’d been sleeping against the window. He handed him the phone without a word, leaving the dazed man to figure out who it was and what was going on. Link tuned out the conversation, watching each tall light fixture pass as they approached the Tower. Sidon handed him back his phone when they reached end of the drive. The older man walked him to the door, voicing a quick goodnight before walking back to the car where the driver took him home, allowing Link to let himself in alone. The Tower was quiet and empty when Link walked into his private suite and went to bed. He was asleep by the time Zelda got home. 

Link woke to sun in his eyes. He must’ve forgotten to shut the curtains last night. Groaning, he pulled himself from between the sheets. He didn’t bother with the bathroom before making his way to the kitchen, knowing he wouldn’t like what he saw in the oversized mirror. The large kitchen was dark and still as clean as it had been last night. That was odd considering Link never woke up before Zelda. Link wondered if he should check on her but decided against it when he made out her date’s car through the wall sized windows. Link brewed coffee. Not because he particularly like it but because it was easy. Thirty minutes later saw him in his office, reading and rereading cases and claims that were really Zelda’s responsibility. There was a knock on his office door. 

“Come in,” he called, not looking away from his screen.

Zelda pushed the dark oak fixture open. “Already working, huh?”

“Yeah, it’s kinda my job.”

“Link, it’s Saturday. You’re in here all the time. Take a day off and for the love of god, eat something other than cereal and coffee. It’s not healthy.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” he replied thoughtlessly, fingers continuing to click away at the keyboard. 

Zelda sighed. “Sidon’s coming over in a few minutes to finalize his contract. I’ll buzz you when he gets here in case you want to say hi.”

“Yeah, that’ll be great,” he waved her off, and she sighed again before closing the door on her way out. 

His buzzer did go off a while later, but Link merely scowled at it before going back to work, all thoughts of his fake boyfriend forgotten.

* * *

 

“And here’s a key to the Tower,” Zelda told him as she handed him a silver keycard. “And this one will get you into Link’s office.” That keycard was pale blue. “Please don’t be afraid to stop by for anything you need, and if you feel up to it, check on him every so often. I’d do it myself but I end up pretty tied up most of the time, especially since I’ve got a business trip overseas coming up. That boy will starve himself to death if someone doesn’t shove food at him.”

Sidon smiled at that. “I don’t know how he’ll feel about me being that person,” he laughed.

Zelda laughed with him. “He does seem to be fighting this with all he’s got, doesn’t he?”

Sidon nodded. “I’ll make do somehow. Oh, do you have a copy of your schedule?”

“Of course!” Zelda dug through her file for a copy of her monthly schedule. “I only have through December,” she told him, handing over the copy of her agenda for the next two months. “None of my plans are as stable as I wish they were.”

“It’s no problem, just keep me posted. As far as public appearances, is there anything I should know about him dietary-wise or other. Any places that he really likes or hates?”

Zelda let out a long breath. “To be completely honest, he doesn’t go out much at all. Spends most of his time cooped up in that office. I don’t know how he keeps himself busy. He likes calm environments, nothing too jumpy or bright. I’d go for places like cafes or the movies if you ever manage to get him out.”

Sidon smiled. “I’m sure I’ll manage somehow.”

Their conversation dwindled after that, Sidon excusing himself after a while. Zelda waved him off from the door of the Tower, watching as the rusty old sports car hummed its way down the drive. She went back to Link’s office after Sidon disappeared from sight. 

“It’s official!” she told the man behind the desk with a smile after she took a seat across from his desk. “He’s your fake boyfriend for the next six months.”

Link groaned and let his head drop back onto the soft leather of his desk chair as if he’d been wishing she’d say something else. 

“Now come on, off the computer. We’re going to do something fun before I leave in two days.” She powered off his computer manually with the button on the side, earning a glare from Link. “Don’t look at me like that. Get up before I drag you out of this stupid room with your butt still attached to that chair.”

Reluctantly, Link pushed himself out of the plush leather seat and followed her out of the office. Zelda’s date was cooking in the kitchen when the two made their way in. 

“Thanks, babe,” Zelda kissed the taller woman on the cheek. 

Link racked his brain for her name but couldn’t remember. He watched as the two spoke quietly to each other, guessing that he was the topic of their conversation by the way Zelda sent a side glance his direction every once in awhile. Once the food was done, the woman set it on the raised bartop in a neat line. Zelda grabbed a plate and loaded it with assorted foods, setting it in front of Link for him to eat. He picked through it, not really feeling hungry. He knew he should eat, knew that his ribs were visible under his thin skin, but he couldn’t bring himself to to it. He just wasn’t hungry. 

“Why don’t we all go out tonight?” Zelda suggested, sipping tea from her  _ I’m my own boss _ mug. “They opened that new club downtown. Let’s all go check it out.”

Link pushed scrambled eggs around his plate. He wasn’t all too excited about third-wheeling...again, but if it got Zelda off his case, it would be worth it. He nodded when he felt Zelda’s eyes land on him.

“Great! I’ll tell Sidon.”

“Wait, what? No, let’s just go without him. Like a going away party. Seriously, he doesn’t need to come.”

“Link, he’s playing the role of your boyfriend. You would take your boyfriend to something like this therefore Sidon comes.”

Link groaned and dug his fork into a pancake aggressively. 

“Look, I know you don’t like this whole situation, but the next six months are going to go so much faster if you come to terms with the fact that this is happening and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Link pouted, finally shoving a piece of the pancake into his mouth.

* * *

 

The air in the nightclub was way too stuffy for Link’s taste, his shirt too tight, and Sidon’s hand on his waist too hot. Link had never been much of a dancer, preferring to watch from the sidelines while Zelda had her fun. And she usually let him. Usually. Tonight, she seemed intent on never letting him take a second to catch his breath. By one in the morning, he had five drinks in his system, his legs numb and mind number. 

He didn’t realize that the hand on his waist was no longer Sidon’s until he was far from the dance floor, a foreign mouth on his neck. He couldn’t focus his eyes enough to get a clear view of his assailant, but he knew he wasn’t putting up too much of a fight, the soft noises escaping his mouth not doing anything to help his case. The fingers at his waist began to pull his shirt free of his slacks and creep their way under it and up his torso. He made a weak attempt at a push at the other man’s broad chest, though it was brushed off like nothing. The man had sucked a mark into his neck before he was finally pulled back by a large hand on his shoulder.

“Seriously, what?” the man asked exasperatedly, turning to see who had interrupted him.

“That’s my boyfriend.” Link barely comprehended the deep accented voice of Sidon as the man was pulled off of him. His legs trembled before giving out, causing Link to brace himself against the wall as he sunk towards the floor. 

“Not my fault you don’t give ‘im what he needs.”

There was a sickening crack, and the man stumbled backwards, hand clasped over his nose. 

“WHAT THE FUCK, DUDE?” 

“Leave,” Sidon replied, voice dangerously low.

A bouncer was at the scene by now, and Sidon calmly explained the situation, gesturing at Link and assuring the nightclub personnel that they were leaving. Link didn’t, couldn’t protest when Sidon scooped him off the ground and carried him from the building. Zelda and her date caught sight of them exiting and followed, saying goodbye to the people they’d met. 

“Oh my goodness, Link!” Zelda gasped when she saw the state he was in, pulling his head into her lap. 

Sidon and the other woman sat across from them, and the driver started the vehicle, taking them back to the Tower. Sidon explained what he knew in a hushed voice as if not wanting to disturb Link. Zelda sighed a lot throughout the whole story, rubbing Link’s head soothingly as he slipped into unconsciousness. Sidon carried him up to his room when they reached the Tower, bidding the women goodnight before showing himself out. 

The car ride back to his apartment felt longer than it was. The back roads were deserted, and the apartment complex almost worryingly quiet when he pulled into his usual parking space and unlocked his apartment. His best friends, Revali and Daruk, were passed out on his couch, drooling peacefully until he flickered the light switch. 

“Whosere?” Revali questioned, launching himself to his feet to the best of his ability in his sleepy state. He held up his fists in an attack ready position despite his eyes still being shut.

Daruk just slumbered on. 

Sidon threw a Hershey’s Kiss from the bowl by the door at Revali, hearing it connect with his forehead as he kicked off his shoes and lined them up on the rack by the door. 

“Ouch,” Revali moaned, rubbing his eyes open slowly. When his eyes came to rest on Sidon, they widened comically. “Daruk!” he cried out as he promptly sat on him, his voice still carrying it’s sleepy lisp. “Sidon’s back from his  _ not _ date.”

“Wassat?” Daruk grumbled sleepily, wrapping his arms around Revali and pulling him into a bear hug. 

“Not cuddling time, Sidon’s back!”

“No no, don’t let me disturb you. Please cuddle and let me go to bed,” Sidon chuckled tiredly, hanging his jacket on a hook by the door.

“What kinda friends would we be if we let that happen?” Revali asked, finally getting Daruk to sit up.

“Good, caring ones.”

“No can do,” Revali replied, far too cheerily for someone who just woke up. He pushed at Daruk’s head when the other man buried his nose in his shoulder, hugging Revali in his lap.

“Can we at least postpone the grilling until tomorrow. I’m going to fall asleep on my feet, and Daruk is going to smother you.”

“Ugh, fine,” Revali grumbled, making one more useless shove at Daruk’s head before giving up. “But don’t even think you’re getting out of it tomorrow. Your pain amuses me.”

“You are literally the one who set me up for this job, you sadistic bastard.”

“Guilty!”

Sidon sighed as he walked to his bedroom, letting the two on the couch settle in again before flipping the lights off.

* * *

 

Sidon visited often during the two weeks Zelda was absent. He brought food every time he showed up, be it take out or something he’d made himself. As much as Link would’ve liked to be annoyed by it, the meals were a sweet gesture. He found himself eating more often than not, not because he was hungry but because Sidon’s face lit up when he did. If the man was going through the struggle, he might as well give back. He and Link had come to a mutual agreement entailing dates every Wednesday and Sidon sleeping over every Friday night. He had been given a large guest bedroom to call his own, but Sidon didn’t try to personalize it. He kept it neat and clean, only using it on Friday. 

Link hated to admit that he enjoyed the times Sidon visited. There were no words, just companionable silence. Link would go about his business, typing and reading documents that Zelda sent over, filing away work, and walking around to pull various books off the tall shelves that lined his walls. Sidon sat on the couch by the door, scribbling away in a small black book. Link never paid him any mind, the older man never did anything to demand his attention. Link smiled at the framed picture of him and Zelda in front of the Tower that stood on the middle platform of the nearest bookshelf. He grabbed the reference book he needed and headed back to his desk. 

Sidon liked to draw. Trees and flowers, animals, city skylines, humans most of all. All of the time spent on the submarine had left him with a lot of free time and boredom, but nothing that couldn’t be remedied with a sketchbook and sharp pencil. Sidon spent the first week avoiding looking at Link. He drew the bookshelves, the view from the huge glass windows, the open food containers on the desk. Until one day, he couldn’t stop himself anymore. He drew the graphic t-shirts, the rough finger combed hair, the tired eyes and restless fingers. It was addicting. Though Link didn’t do much, he always looked different. Maybe it was the angle, or the lighting, or the position of his body at that all too constant desk. Or maybe it was the way he threw his head back when he got aggravated or his eyes lit up when he finally found the right book. Sidon felt like he could draw him forever. But that sounded a little creepy and obsessive for a fake boyfriend who was getting paid to hang around. 

Nothing much changed when Zelda came home. She was tied to her office as much as Link chose to be in his. She’d drag the two out on weekends when she had a speck of freetime, but other than that, their lives remained quiet and lethargic. The parties didn’t get better either; Link still hated talking to people, thanking them for investing and showing up. The dancing was fine. It took a few tries for Zelda and Sidon to convince him that he wasn’t being judged for his dancing skills, or rather the lack-thereof. Zelda decided to give him lessons in her spare time, but they didn’t really help as his usual partner at the public gatherings was a good foot taller than her. 

And so the first month passed. 

Stocks were steadily rising again, much to Zelda and the rest of the Board’s relief. Link began to become more aware of just how he and Sidon looked in public, Zelda having shown him their picture in the paper. Sidon began to hold Link closer when they went out, kissed his cheek when he deemed the mood right. Link reciprocated the small gestures once he’d gotten over the shock, not that it didn’t take three weeks and countless heated arguments to get to that point. Sidon still hung out in his office every day he could, scribbling away in his book. The drawings of Link kept coming, almost as if Sidon couldn’t stop himself. He kept the pages hidden from Link’s view, not wanting to deal with his reaction if he ever found out what Sidon spent so much time on. 

It was mid February when it happened. Link had just walked Sidon to the door after a long day of silent companionship in the office. He watched fondly as the car shrunk from view down the drive. Turning back to return inside, Link found himself face to face with Zelda.

“You know, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you looked sad to see him go.”

“Yeah right,” Link scoffed, feeling his cheeks heat up at her implication.

“Ha, I’m just messing,” she said, turning away from the door. 

It was Saturday, meaning some ridiculously taxing activity was scheduled that night. Link decided it would be best if he took a nap before he was dragged from the coziness of the Tower to some social outing guaranteed to make him feel at least slightly uncomfortable. His thoughts kept wandering to Sidon as he rode the elevator up to his suite’s floor. The accent that could even be heard in his laugh, the smile he wore when he showed up at the door with a meal, the way he never hesitated to grab books off of shelves that Link couldn’t quite reach. In hindsight, it probably wasn’t the best idea to fall in love with someone who got paid to hang out with you, but it’d been years since Link had felt this way, and he’d forgotten how to control his heart. So he stood alone in the elevator until is dinged open on his floor and let his heart take and take and take.

* * *

 

“I’m back,” Sidon called into his apartment when he got back from the Tower. 

There came no answer, which was surprising as Revali and Daruk always managed to be there when he got home. 

“Guys?”

Sidon sighed and put his shoes back on, grabbing his friend’s spare room key and walking over to the apartment next door. He knocked before letting himself in but there was no response. He made his way around the apartment, moving back towards the bedroom last. The door was closed and Sidon reached for the handle, having seen their cars in the lot below and their belongings in their own messy order around the apartment. He needed to know if they were safe. A muffled moan came from inside the room, and Sidon’s hand shot away from the handle like it’d tried to bite him. He spun on his heel and walked as quietly and calmly as he could manage back to his apartment. Once inside, he kicked off his shoes, setting them neatly on the rack and went over to his kitchen table. 

His college applications were just as he left them, all laid out in neat stacks. Art school. His dream since he was a snot nosed kid, dressed in fancy clothes, sitting next to his father and sister at banquets. He’d thought about it every day on that submarine, floating around in the sea. The hopeful  _ ‘One day, when I get out…’ _ s his favorite pastime. He’d gone to the library before getting home to print off his resume. Setting everything in order, all of his applications finally done, he folded them neatly and sealed them in the proper envelopes. He walked out to his mailbox and put them in, not at all ready for the anxious wait that would come with the process. 

Revali and Daruk didn’t come over until later that night, shuffling in loudly, bickering like normal. They seemed oblivious to Sidon’s knowledge of their prior...activities, for which he was glad. Sidon gave them his leftovers while he informed them of just another gala he would have to attend the next week. 

“Dude, another one? What are they paying you?” Revali managed to get out through a mouthful of pasta. 

“Still way more than this job is worth,” Sidon sighed, and Revali lifted an eyebrow. “Really! I don’t need quite as much as they’re giving me.”

“You’re earning it,” Daruk reassured him. “They’re not just giving it to you. From what I’ve heard, this Link guy’s a handful. Plus, you’re gonna need some of that money for your college, right?”

“Well, yeah. If I even get in.”

“Don’t play that game with us, I’ve seen your stuff. It’s awesome,” Revali told him. “Even if most of it has just been your ‘fake’ boyfriend recently.”

“What did I tell you about looking in my sketchbook!”

“I don’t know; I never listen when you tell me  _ not  _ to do something.”

Daruk shook his head at his lover’s antics, mouthing ‘I’m sorry’ at Sidon, who threw his head back and groaned. 

“Fuck you guys.”

“I can’t control this annoying basket case,” Daruk laughed, gesturing to Revali.

Revali gasped indignantly. “I am not a basket case.”

“But you don’t deny that you aren’t annoying.”

“I  _ know  _ I’m annoying, thank you very much. It’s so much work too.”

“What’s so much work?” Sidon scoffed.

“Annoying you guys 24/7.”

“Well, you don’t let it show; you’re a true master of your trade.”

Daruk snorted at that, and they fell into their regular easy conversation.

* * *

 

Link spent the next week and a half staring at Sidon out of the corner of his eye. Yes, he was aware of how creepy that sounded. But it didn’t stop him from glancing at him from behind the cover of his computer screen or asking the taller man to get books off high shelves that he didn’t actually need. For the first time in the four months they’d been at this, the gala couldn’t come fast enough. Link got dressed an hour before they would be leaving, putting on his expensive cologne instead of the cheap stuff he usually threw on. He left his hair down for the first time in a long while. 

He was the first person by the door waiting for the driver. Zelda joined him twenty minutes before they were to set off, her backless silver dress shining under the lighting. Sidon called ahead, saying he was running late and that he would meet them there. Link wouldn’t admit to the twinge of disappointment he felt at the words. 

The car ride was quiet and uneventful, missing Sidon’s laugh and the quiet conversations that Link had only recently begun to take part in. 

“So how’s the ‘boyfriend’,” Zelda’s date, Urbosa, he now recalled, asked jokingly.

Link turned to focus on something outside the window, knowing they would see the blush on his cheeks if he turned to face them. 

“He’s fine,” Link mumbled against his suit’s sleeve. 

“Well, you don’t sound too happy,” Zelda prodded, trying to get him to smile. “Still don’t like these big dances, huh?”

Link just shook his head in silence, suddenly dreading the gala. 

The car pulled up to the door forty minutes after the party began, the driver telling them that he would be in the adjacent parking lot if they needed him and to just give him a call when they were ready to go. Sidon was standing by the door waiting in a pressed black suit and deep maroon shirt. He held out his arm for Link when the younger man reached the large entryway, and he took it gratefully, not feeling so out of place when he was with Sidon. 

“You look nice,” Sidon told him as he walked Link towards a group of men to greet.

“Again with the flattery,” Link chuckled. “Can’t stop?”

“Apologies. I guess I just can’t help myself.”

It was odd, flirting with your boyfriend who wasn’t actually your boyfriend and hoping that he didn’t realize exactly what you were doing. But Sidon flirted back, so Link didn’t restrain himself. They danced closer than before and maybe Link even smiled this time. Maybe. Sidon excused himself from the dance floor after a few songs, and Link followed him off before realizing the older man would definitely find it odd if he stuck to his hip the whole night. Link always tended to push Sidon away when he tried, and, despite wanting to be near him, it felt wrong to go against what he had spent four months working up. So Link waited by the drink table, nursing a glass of champagne, glancing off in the direction Sidon had gone. One glass turned into two, two turned into three. People came and went, greeting and holding small meaningless conversations with him. Three turned into four. Link checked his watch; it had been near an hour. He pushed himself all the way onto his feet, where he had been leaning against the table, and took a second to fully gain his balance. Then he set off in the direction he had watched Sidon leave in. He walked through the venue, eyes searching for the tall man, but he couldn’t find him. Link stumbled up the few marble stairs to the balcony where couples were talking quietly, overlooking the gardens. Link walked the length of it, finally reaching the back.

Sidon was standing there, talking to a shorter woman. Link froze when he heard Sidon’s signature laugh and saw the way he leaned into the woman’s space, making her blush. He couldn’t tear his eyes away, even though it hurt to watch. Then Sidon kissed her on the cheek. Soft and meaningfully, not like the fake pecks he gave Link when they were in public. Link forced himself to turn around and leave. He didn’t stop walking until he was past the party, up the back set of stairs, and on the roof overlooking the city. Link didn’t remember if he even closed the door or not. Why was he so upset? He had to reason, no right to be, yet the scene from the balcony kept replaying in his head, making him angry and sad and lonely all over again. Link walked over to the edge, sitting cross-legged on the cold concrete. He logged into his phone and pulled up a document to read through and edit.

Link jumped when Sidon sat down next to him. He didn’t know how long it had been, how long he’d been sitting up on the roof all alone.

“Zelda’s worried about you,” Sidon told him, taking a seat beside Link.

“I’ll text her to tell her I’m fine,” Link mumbled, still hunched over his phone.

“You don’t have to, I told her as soon as I found you.”

Link tilted his head to the side to look at Sidon. The older man’s eyes held evident worry, and Link couldn’t bear to look at them for long, fearing he’d forget what he’d seen. 

“How’d you find me anyway?” Link asked. He’d left the party and gone up two flights of stairs onto the roof. Sidon must have been searching for a while.

“I had time. And you left the door open,” Sidon gestured to the now closed roof access door. 

Link nodded, turning back to his phone. He got lost in the documents, not really wanting Sidon to be there but lacking the resolve to send him away.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Sidon asked a while later, not tearing his eyes away from the glowing view of the city skyline. 

“Talk about what?”

“Whatever’s wearing on you. I’m pretty sure you’ve been up here for more than an hour.”

_ Yes, because it’s you. Because I’m mad that you’re happy, happy without me. In love without me. Mad because I’m nothing more than a way to pay your bills. Sad because I was stupid enough to think that maybe you love me like I love you. _

“No.”

Sidon nodded, eyes searching the horizon for the Tower. He focused on it once it was in his sights. “If you ever do, I’ll listen. Not because it’s in the job description, because you’re my friend.”

Link wanted to bury his face in Sidon’s broad chest and cry, but he couldn’t because Sidon wasn’t his to bombard with emotional insecurity. So he focused on his phone until his eyes hurt, trying to stop the tears that threatened to fall. Sidon didn’t stop staring at the skyline, his phone having died almost as soon as the text to Zelda had been sent. He let his eyes drift shut, able to make out the sounds of the city if he focused. The sound of Link letting out a shaky breath broke him out of his reverie. The air was getting colder, and Link shivered, clenching his arms closer to his side as he continued to scroll through the document. It was boring but it beat the alternative of making conversation with Sidon. A warm heavy presence settled on his shoulders. Link looked over at Sidon, who had just draped his suit jacket over Link’s shoulders.

“Can’t let my boyfriend be cold,” Sidon offered with a small huff of laughter, smiling softly when Link grabbed the sides of the jacket and wrapped it tighter around himself. 

“What about you? Won’t you get cold?” Sidon was just sitting on the roof in a thin button down and undershirt afterall.

“I’ll be fine, cold doesn’t really get to me.”

“Thank you,” Link said gratefully, surrounding himself in the warmth and comforting smell of Sidon’s cologne. 

Link didn’t know how long it was before he finally got tired of pretending to be interested in whatever he was scrolling through on his phone. Sidon was laying done on his back next to him, eyes closed but not asleep. Link nudged his side gently, feeling a blush creep onto his cheeks when Sidon’s molten gold eyes blinked open and settled on his face, calm and fond.

“Ready to go?” Sidon asked softly, as if Link would get scared away if he spoke too loud.

Link nodded and Sidon sat up. Then Link hugged him. Sidon froze for a second, not sure what was happening or what Link was okay with him doing. Tentatively he wrapped his own larger arms around the smaller man’s body, holding him tight.

“Thank you,” Link whispered into the fabric of his shirt. “Thank you for not leaving me alone.”

Sidon remained silent, clutching him tighter.

Link liked Sidon’s car. It was old, something Sidon had bought from a junk car convention and fixed up during his time off the submarine. The rows were benches, the car’s model being made before individual seats took to the market. The leather was soft and worn, ‘well-loved’ as Sidon had defended her when Link had brought it up on his first ride. The engine was far more quiet than Link would have expected, but he enjoyed it, the soft rumbling purr soothing in the dark of night. There was a gold chain with a small red shark trinket dangling from the mirror, and Link watched it sway back and forth, grabbing Sidon’s jacket tighter around his sides. The best part of the car was that it smelled like Sidon, not just the cologne. The smell of his home, the one Link had never seen despite being in a fake relationship with the man for four months, despite the man invading every nook and cranny of his own life. 

It wasn’t fair, it wasn’t right for Link to want him like he did. But Link couldn’t help himself, couldn’t help wanting to be Sidon’s everything just as Sidon was to him. He was being a selfish child, but he couldn’t stop, couldn’t make himself stop. Not even after everything he’d seen that night. 

“Everything okay? You’re glaring daggers into my upholstery.” Sidon’s voice broke through Link’s daze. Link glanced over at the older man, finding him looking back.

“Yeah yeah, I’m good.”

Sidon nodded slowly, his eyes fixated on the road once again. “I don’t really know what’s going on with you, but I guess it’s none of my business. I just want you to take care of yourself, okay? Promise me that at least. Like when this whole job thing is over and you go back to your normal life again, promise me you’ll keep eating and sleeping and getting out of that office at least once in a while.” He laughed humorlessly. “Cause if you don’t I’m gonna have to come back to bug you again. Bring you food everyday and walk you around these dances to make sure you talk to people.”

Link smiled to himself. “Well that doesn’t sound all too bad.”

Sidon smiled at the road as he pulled into the Tower’s drive. No, it didn’t.

* * *

 

It was mid-March. Sidon was laying on the couch in Link’s office sketching when he got the call from Daruk. He and Link had just finished the pizza Sidon had brought from the outskirts of the city, and Sidon was proud to report that Link had gained enough weight to look healthy. His face didn’t look as gaunt and colorless, and he could no longer feel the definition of every single rib under Link’s shirt when he wrapped his arms around him in public. Link seemed happier too, still a bit distant from him but definitely happier. He smiled around the office, and Sidon found himself putting more work into Link’s facial features in each of his new sketches. 

Sidon had yanked the phone free of his pocket, rushing to turn off the embarrassingly loud ringtone that just happened to be the most obnoxious song Daruk could find on the internet. Link raised an amused eyebrow at him from across the room, and Sidon smiled sheepishly before excusing himself.

“What’s up?”

_ “Well, we got some good news and some even better news. Which one do you want to hear first?” _

“So good that it couldn’t wait for me to get home. Wait, why do you even have my mail?”

_ “Revali was out by the car when the mail guy came, picked up yours and ours so none of it got shoved in the wrong mailbox.” _

Sidon made a mental note to thank Revali when he got home; he’d lost more mail than he could count.

“Okay, tell me the news.”

Sidon made out a quiet _‘Babe, put him on speaker. I want to hear how he reacts.’_ from Revali before Daruk asked him if that was okay. He confirmed it.

_ “Alright, we have some letters. Three to be exact. They each-” _

“Stop stalling, Daruk. You already have me on the edge of my seat here, just tell me.”

_ “Three college letters. We got HUA, ACVA, and CHUVA. I have no clue what they stand for, all they got is the big ass acronym on the front of the letter.” _

“It’s Hateno University of Art, Akkala College of Visual Arts, and Central Hyrule University of the Visual Arts. It doesn’t matter, just skip to the last one.”

_ “Okey dokey, let’s see here.” _ Sidon could make out the sound of the letter ripping open.  _ “Dear applicant… blah blah blah… You have been accepted into our design and visual arts program. Congrats for that, dude. Blah blah blah… There will be a three week precursor to the start of your course in the end of July. This three week course will begin on June 18, a Monday on the main campus. We suggest you arrive a day early to set up your quarters and meet your roommate or mates. However this three week course is not mandatory, only highly suggested as it will help you get used to your future professors and classmates as well as get into the swing of university life. Blah blah blah… We hope to see you there, the Administration of the Central Hyrule University of the Visual Arts. Then there’s just a bunch of contact info. Oh wait. Here it says, If you plan on attending, please email your respective guidance counselor to confirm enrollment. It’s split up by last name, not that hard. I guess just do that when you get home today.” _

“Okay, yeah, I will,” Sidon could barely contain his excitement; he was practically bouncing off the walls. “Thanks, Daruk. And thank you too, Revali. This is like the best day of my life. What the hell. You guys are the best.”

Sidon was pretty sure Revali was making fun of him when he hung up, but Zelda was calling his name, so he gave a hasty goodbye and tucked the phone into his pocket. 

“Hey,” she said, jogging up to him. “Good news, huh?”

“Yeah,” Sidon replied cheerily, still beaming. “What’s up?”

“There are only a few weeks left on your contract and I was thinking about renewing it. Not the whole six months of course, but maybe two or three. Just as long as stocks are climbing.”

Sidon nodded. He could do two more months. 

“Think about it,” she chirped, smiling at him before walking past.

Link didn’t even look up from his computer screen when Sidon let himself back in. 

“Big stuff?” he asked, typing into a document.

“Yeah, huge!”

* * *

 

“And there we go,” Sidon said triumphantly, tucking the white  boutonnière into lapel of Link’s suit. “We match!”

Link laughed into his hand at the childish look on Sidon’s face. It was mid April, the last gala that Sidon was required to go to on his current contract. They were both wearing navy blue suits, white shirts, and black ties. 

“We do look pretty good,” Link smiled, turning to see himself fully in the floor length mirror. 

“Come on, I’ll drive us,” Sidon said energetically, grabbing Link’s hand and his keys off the counter. He hauled him towards the door.

“Wait, wait. Let me grab a parking pass!”

“I already have one, Zelda gave it to me.” Sidon scooped Link up princess style and kicked open the door, holding it there with his foot.

Link couldn’t contain his laughter as he wrapped his arms around Sidon’s neck and held on for dear life. Link knew that Sidon wasn’t his, couldn’t be his, but if Sidon was going to be affectionate, he would be damned if he didn’t reciprocate the notion. 

“Zelda! We’re leaving!” Link shouted, hearing the echo ring throughout the Tower’s lowest level. There came no reply. 

Link shrugged in Sidon’s arms, and the older man smiled before whisking him out the door to the old car. Sidon placed him down on the passenger side gently, closing the door and walking around to the driver’s side. They set off, Sidon’s old rock albums playing over the speakers. 

“Where are you going? You just missed the turn,” Link said when Sidon went straight through an intersection instead of right.

“You didn’t think I was just going to deliver you to the bane of your existence and be done with it, did you?” Sidon laughed, sliding on a pair of Aviators as the sun sank low enough to hit his eyes. “This might be the last party we go to as a couple.” He nudged Link’s arm. “So I’m gonna take you out to dinner, then go on a walk around downtown, maybe the lake. We’re gonna do whatever you want to do for an hour or two, and then we can go to that gala and dance around with rich old men and drink expensive champagne until it comes out our ears.”

Link beamed as he let his hand hang out the window, gratefully taking the extra pair of sunglasses that Sidon offered him. And so they sped down the highway, belting out lyrics to AC/DC and Queen songs like it was their last night on Earth.

Link was definitely far too overdressed for the dinner joint Sidon brought him to. It was a Chicago-style pizza place on the outskirts of the city. Sidon knew the owner and called out to him as soon as he’d ushered Link through the door. 

“Sidon!” a large man in a grease-stained chef’s apron called out cheerfully, pushing open the kitchen doors to come greet them. 

“Hey Batreaux! Long time, no see.”

“Regular table?” the owner asked and Sidon nodded. The man grabbed a menu off the stand by the door. “Right this way.”

Sidon gestured for Link to walk in front of him. “So how’ve you been man?” he asked. “Vali usually doesn’t stop by when he gets in, just goes to bed.”

“He does always seem to be tired, doesn’t he? Yesterday he fell asleep between the sink and the chopping tables. He was so quiet he scared my wife half to death when she saw him.”

Link shot a confused look back at Sidon, not knowing who the two were talking about. Sidon held up his finger, a silent promise that he would explain as soon as they were alone. 

“He’s going back to school,” Sidon explained to Batreaux. “Didn’t like the career track he went for the first time so he’s going for engineering.”

“Makes sense. Never could see that boy being an environmental scientist.” They stopped at a secluded raised booth in the corner. “Here you are. I’ll send someone back in a couple minutes for drinks. Oh!” Batreaux startled as if finally realizing that Link was there too. “Who’s this cutie? You finally got yourself a date, huh?”

“Oh yeah, this is Link, my boyfriend.”

So Batreaux didn’t know. That was for the best, Link guessed. He waved at the owner shyly, his cheeks heating up. 

“You know I always thought ‘He’s an attractive young man, chivalrous, kind. He ought to have eager contenders wrapped around his fingers. So why is he always alo-”

“Batreaux,” Sidon interrupted, shaking his head.

“Right, I’ll have your server grab you another menu. Enjoy, lovebirds.”

“Ha, sorry about that. He’s like a crazy uncle or something,” Sidon apologized once the older man had gone.

“You don’t have to justify it,” Link laughed into his hand. “It’s not like we’re actually dating so I don’t really care.”

They browsed the drink menu in silence before looking on to the food. Sidon had to explain what it was like because Link had never had Chicago-style pizza before. 

“What do you guys want to drink?” A tired drawl came from the side. 

Sidon’s head jerked away from the menu. “Revali, what are you doing here?”

“Come on, man. We’re supposed to be friends. You didn’t memorize my schedule.”

“I did. You work here on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday nights and Tuesday during lunch shift. You don’t work here on Thursdays.”

“Oh right, I’m covering for a guy.”

“You need to rest. You look totally out of it.”

“I didn’t get much sleep last night.”

“I know. I could hear you against my bedroom wall. Well you and the other one, but I’ll speak with him later.”

Link felt a blush creep onto his own face, but Revali just shrugged. 

“Hey, stress does that. I got finals coming up.”

“All the more reason you should sleep.”

“Am I gonna get your drink order or are you just gonna ‘mom’ me?”

Sidon sighed and shook his head in irritation. “I’ll have water.”

“Lemonade,” Link told him when Revali nodded in his direction. 

Revali jotted down the orders and walked back to the kitchen. 

Dinner was amazing, and Link definitely knew why Sidon frequented the place. Revali came out to sit with them at one point, and Sidon nearly force fed him like he had done for Link all those months ago. They made a quick stop at Sidon’s car to drop off the box of leftovers before starting off on their walk. The sky had begun to grow dark, and the city lights twinkled brighter than ever in the shroud of night. Sidon bought churros from a food cart downtown, the desert still fresh and hot and practically dripping in cinnamon sugar. They munched on them as they made their way to the small park in the middle of the city. The lake was more like a pond in size, still quite large but not quite enough. Everyone in the city called it Lake Hylia, but Link thought that was because they wished for some speck of nature in their concrete bound world. Sidon skipped rocks on the surface once they’d finished their churros. Link watched him from a park bench. He sighed; was he wrong to want this to be real? To wish that he could live in this pseudo reality with Sidon forever. His eyes followed Sidon’s hand as it reached out to grab another stone off the bank. Was he wrong to want to know what that hand felt like on his body, with real compassion feuling it? Yes, he hung his head. He was wrong to do so. Here he was sitting in the only speck of nature around for miles, loving and lusting over the man who worked to fix his mistakes. His feelings, the relationship he’d conjured up in his mind, they were just something fake. Something fake that he needed to forget before he hurt himself. 

The sky was black when they decided to head back to the car and finally go to the party. Link couldn’t seem to stop thanking Sidon, no matter how many times Sidon told him that it was his pleasure. Zelda smiled when she saw them walk in together, winking at Link playfully. He tried to roll his eyes, but the blush covering his cheeks took the seriousness away. He decided that it would be best if he greeted people first, being as late as it was. Sidon went with him, saying hello to each guest in his own special way, keeping a hand on Link’s waist through the whole thing. It was ridiculous how Link had come to be so fond of something he’d hated in the beginning. Link was already near out of breath when they finally made it to the dance floor. Sidon pulled him into his arms, and they started swaying in time. It must have been five or six songs later when Link leaned up to Sidon’s ear, saying that he was going to get a drink. 

“Hey!” A loud voice startled him, causing him to stumble forward and accidentally knock a glass over.

“Ilia, hey,” he greeted without turning, trying to dry the spilled champagne with a neatly folded napkin from the food section of the table. Once he deemed it sufficiently cleaned up, he turned to face the woman. “Still coming to these things?”

“Yeah, my dad’s a big investor and all that so he takes me to these big events,” she informed him, sidling closer. 

Link took a step back. Normally he didn’t mind close to Ilia, having her stuck to his side, but now it was just annoying and pushy. He took another careful step back, accidentally placing his foot on a bit of the tablecloth that was on the floor. Ilia moved a bit closer to him, leading him to take another step back in return, his back bumping into the table. 

And then he slipped. He was already off balance from trying to move further back than the table would allow, but the lack of friction from the foot that was on the tablecloth made him to tumble backwards. Trying to grip at the table behind him for balance, he found none, only succeeding in pulling the whole tablecloth, champagne glasses, flower vases, tea sandwiches and all off of it. There was a sickening pause after the clattering finally stopped. Other than the band playing in the background, the hall was silent, all attention trained on Link. He caught Zelda’s eyes. They were blown wide in astonishment as she covered her mouth with her hand. Link could hear the blood pumping in his ears as people began to talk again, hushed voices and not so subtle glances in his direction. Sidon pushed through the crowd, grabbing Link up off the floor before too many cameramen could take their pictures. He practically carried the younger man out of the venue.

“What happened? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Can we go? Please, I can’t go back in there.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll take you back to the Tower.”

Link nodded and allowed Sidon to lead him to the car. The ride was silent, both of them ignoring the texts and calls they were receiving, mostly from Zelda. 

“Wait,” Link said when they’re halfway back to the tower. 

Sidon pulled over onto the side of the road. “Is everything okay?”

“No, I can’t go back to the tower. Not yet. Zelda’s going to kill me.”

“I don’t know. Maybe you should just talk it out with her.”

“No, not yet. Just, please, not yet.” Link felt tears start to fall. They dripped down his face in slimy twisting patterns, making him feel dirty and vulnerable.

“Hey, it’s okay. We won’t go back to the Tower, okay? I’ll take you to my place, how ‘bout that? Is that okay?”

Link nodded solemnly. On any other day, at any other time, he would have been thrilled at the idea of going to Sidon’s apartment. Now it just felt like the walk of shame. Sidon helped him out of the car and up the stairs. Link stood to the side while Sidon unlocked the door. 

“Here, let me get you some clothes to change into,” Sidon offered, going into the back room and returning with a shirt and pair of sweatpants. “This is the smallest stuff I’ve got. You can have the bedroom, I’ll take the couch.”

Link spared a look at the couch. It wasn’t terribly small, but it wasn’t big enough for Sidon to sleep on, especially not comfortably. 

“No, it’s okay. I’m intruding. I can take the couch. It really isn’t a problem.”

Sidon only shook his head silently. Link ducked his head and took the clothes from Sidon, going to the bedroom that Sidon gestured to to get changed. The shirt was soft and baggy, an old band t-shirt with faded screen print. There was no hope for the sweatpants to fit him. Even if he rolled the waistband twice, they slipped off his hips and fell. Link left them off, the t-shirt falling at least a third of the way down his thighs. He exited the softly lit room. 

“Where’s your bathroom?” Link asked quietly upon entering the lamp-lit living room.

“Mhm?” Sidon hummed, not having heard him.

“Bathroom?”

“Right off the kitchen.”

Link made his way over. His reflection in the mirror shocked him. He skin was blotchy, pale from the dread and embarrassment and red from the tears. He started to cry again, wiping his eyes over and over angily, unable to get the tears to stop. Link let out one painfully loud wail, and Sidon was in the room in seconds, coaxing him out and settling him down on the couch. The older man took a seat across from him. 

“You’re okay, you’re okay,” Sidon mumbled over and over, massaging one of Link’s hands with his own two. “Don’t cry. You’re okay.”

The tears didn’t stop falling, but the agonizing sounds and shaking did. Sidon’s eyes were filled with worry, and he never stopped working over Link’s hand. He pulled Link in for a hug, holding him securely against his broad chest. Link buried his nose in Sidon’s shoulder and breathed. Sidon was holding him alone in his apartment. He cared. That was all Link thought as he drew back, closing his eyes and pressing his lips against Sidon’s own. Sidon kissed back for a second, his mouth soft against Link’s own, but then he was pushing Link away. 

“I-I’m sorry,” he managed to get out. “I can’t.”

Link’s eyes were wide at the sudden reaction. He pulled himself away quickly, nearly jumping off the couch.

“Sorry, I guess I read the mood wrong,” was all he mumbled before he fled into the bedroom and shut the door.

Sidon touched his hand to his mouth. This was bad. He knew how this story ended. Give your heart to someone who doesn’t really want it and everyone gets hurt. Sidon had learned the hard way that the pain people could bring on with weapons and words was nothing to meaningless feelings. Whatever he felt for Link, whatever had been growing in the pit of his stomach all this time, needed to be locked away. He wasn’t going to hurt himself or Link in ways that couldn’t be healed by medicine. He would protect them. Sidon pulled the blanket over himself and turned off the lamp, steeling his resolve. 

Link dreaded leaving the bedroom from the second he woke up. His face was still puffy from the tears of last night, and he hoped that he would be able to make it to the bathroom to splash water on it before Sidon saw him. Link slid out of the bed and stumbled on the ground for a second, fishing for his dress slacks off the floor. After the painful rejection of yesterday, Link didn’t really want to be out in the apartment exposed. He left the shirt on, justifying that it was more comfortable than his dress shirt. Link poked his head out of the room, looking around for a second before leaving. He didn’t see Sidon, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t around. Link crept into the kitchen, glancing over at the couch. It was empty. Link turned his attention to a small piece of paper, standing folded on the kitchen counter.

_ ‘Went for a run. I should be back by 9, I can take you to the Tower then if you’re ready. You can take a shower or help yourself to anything in the kitchen. There’s a clean shirt and some pants that I borrowed from Revali sitting on the table next to the couch. I know mine are too big for you so I hope those fit.’ _

Link sighed after reading it. After everything he had put Sidon through, after everything he’d forced the older man to deal with, Sidon still cared. Link grabbed the clothes off the table and made his way through Sidon’s spotless apartment to the bathroom; a shower sounded nice. He pulled a clean towel from the cabinet next to the sink and set it down on next to the clothes. He washed himself fast, keeping in mind that Sidon probably didn’t have the luxury of unlimited heated water like he did back at the Tower. Link smiled to himself when he reached for shampoo. The soap definitely held the smell that he loved on Sidon, and he chuckled when he realized it was the generic supermarket shampoo from the local store. Nothing expensive, nothing with Sidon ever was. Link almost forgot that he was supposed to be upset with the older man. 

Sidon was moving around the kitchen cooking when Link got out of the shower, donning Revali’s clothes and a towel wrapped around his head. Sidon smiled at him from the stove.

“Good morning. Sleep well?”

Oh, so that’s how they were going to do it. Pretend like last night didn’t exist.

“Um, yeah, yeah I slept well. Your bed is comfortable.”

“Good to hear.” Sidon emptied the omlet that he had made onto a plate, setting it down on the counter with a fork for Link. “Here’s for you to eat. I’m gonna hop in the shower and then we can get going, okay?”

Link nodded, watching Sidon retreat into the bathroom. He ate the omlet standing at the kitchen counter silently. Sidon came back smelling of soap and clean linen, and Link’s chest ached. Things would be better when Sidon wasn’t around anymore, maybe he could forget.

Sidon tried to keep the car ride cheery and normal, but the tension that hung in the air never truly left. Sidon mentally kicked himself; he needed to see past this and keep their friendship rolling. This he told himself over and over again, yet everytime he closed his eyes, he saw Link’s flushed face and felt the ghost of his lips. And he longed for it to happen again with less tears and sad expressions. With less pain. When they got to the Tower, Link left with only a quiet ‘Thank you’ on his tongue.

Three days later, Sidon was filling out paperwork in the kitchen. He would have been in the office, but based on the vibes Link had nearly been radiating, the man had clearly wanted to be alone. 

“What’s that?” Zelda asked, coming up behind him and offering a mug of coffee when he turned around.

“This? Just some forms for a big thing I’m doing.”

Zelda glanced past his arm at the sheet of paper. “Yeah, CHUVA does sound like a pretty big thing.”

Sidon smiled sheepishly. “It’s sorta like a dream, you know?”

“Not really. Law school wasn’t really a picnic.”

“I can imagine.”

“Why didn’t you say anything before? You seem really excited about this, just not want to share?”

“Oh yeah, no. I didn’t want to bother you with the whole deal. I just figured, I would be out of here before anything happened, so why be an annoyance, right?”

Zelda pursed her lips and raised an eyebrow. “We really rub you that way?”

Sidon eyes shot to hers before his face tipped down to look at his shoes. He shook his head. “No.”

“Then why? Is it because of the contract renewal, which I’ve been meaning to talk to you about.”

“No, I just… I’m just really excited about it, and I thought that if I brought it up, it would sound like I was really happy about being done here and leaving. But that’s not how it is at all! I just didn’t want it to come out wrong or for you to take it the wrong way. I guess I should’ve to—”

“You’re going to college?” Link’s voice rang through the kitchen, making Zelda turn and Sidon wince.

“Yeah, art school,” he said as if he were embarrassed.

“And that’s such a minor detail that it never came up in conversation!”

“Link, calm down,” Zelda attempted.

“No! I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but it’s been six months, Zelda. Six fucking months of me opening myself up to this guy and letting him into my life, which is kind of a struggle for me on my best day. And after all that, I’m just now told that he’s been applying for college, got accepted, and is going when?” He looked to Sidon.

“Two months,” Sidon filled in hesitantly.

“Great! Even better! You know what, why don’t you just go.”

“What?” Sidon and Zelda asked unanimously.

“Your contract only has a few days left on it, so why don’t you just take off. We can pay you for the four or five days left, so don’t worry about that.”

“Link,” Zelda said quietly, going over and pulling him aside. “Why are you doing this? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Obviously he doesn’t want us in on his personal life, which I completely respect, so we should let him go to get things together before he goes to college. It’s not personal, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“Yeah, that is what I’m thinking,” she whispered harshly into his ear before turning to Sidon. “Maybe you should come back tomorrow. Link and I will get this sorted out. Congrats on CHUVA.” 

“Um, thanks. I guess I’ll see you guys later,” Sidon excused himself awkwardly, offering a small wave before departing. 

Link sighed and went to leave, but Zelda caught his shoulder. 

“Nice try. Sit down and tell me what the hell that was.”

Link glowered at her, angrily pulling a chair out from the raised bar top and dropping himself in it. “What do you want to know?”

“What do I want to know? What do I want to know?! I want to know what the fuck changed between you two!” Her voice rose as she started pacing. “You know, one minute you two are flirting with each other and having fucking eye sex from across the room, and then you get hostile and essentially tell him that you never want to see him again? And I’m supposed to believe it’s not personal?! I’m a lot of things, but I’m not stupid and I’m not blind. So either you’re going to give me a good reason to believe you or you’re going to give me the whole  _ real _ story, and then we’re going to figure out our next  _ mature _ move.”

Telling Zelda to full story was out of the picture, Link decided as he sat at the bar top soaking in her words. So he was going to have to reason his way out of this one. Good thing he was a lawyer.

“The stocks are up even higher than they were before the big incident, so he’s done what he needed to do. Plus, he needs time to prep for college. I think that the job is too time consuming and that we’re holding him back.”

Zelda raised an eyebrow. “And you’re okay with booting him to the curb and never seeing him again?”

“He’s got things pretty secure back at his place; it’s not like we’re wiping the foundation out from under his feet. And who said I’ll never see him again?”

“I did because I know you. No matter how committed you are to a person, you never go out of your comfort zone to be with them. And meeting up with an ex employee to do something other than the work your whole relationship is based on is pretty far out of your comfort zone.”

Link tried to scoff, but he knows it’s true.

“Look, if you just don’t want him around anymore, I’ll respect that,” Zelda told him with a sigh. “You’ve held up your end of the deal, so I’ll honor my part. I told you just six months, and that’s done, so we’ll let him off a bit early and pay him for those days.”

Link nodded, agreeing with the plan. “Thanks.”

Zelda shook her head. “I’ll tell him when he comes in tomorrow. It’s your choice if you want to be here or not.”

Link stayed in his suite the next day when Sidon pulled up. He would rather have been in the safe, familiar walls of his office, but Sidon would probably pass through there to make sure he picked up all of his belongings. Zelda didn’t tell Sidon that Link was there, but the older man never asked, never even brought Link up. Sidon left with a melancholy smile and a cardboard box in his arms; Link watched from four floors up. 

The next month was dreadful. The silence in his office was deafening and lonely; he even had to pull in a step stool to reach books on the top shelves. Link stopped by the pizza restaurant to drop off Revali’s clothes, and Sidon’s friend thanked him curtly before returning to the kitchen without so much as another word. Link wanted to ask him about how Sidon was doing, but it felt wrong. He found himself drowning in cheap wine and and shitty Netflix tv shows on more nights than he’d like to admit to, not even bothering to go out with Zelda and Urbosa on the weekends anymore. He lost weight, ten pounds at least, shuddering every time he saw himself in the mirror. He looked the same as he had when Sidon had first walked into his life. The galas got worse, but he stuck with the routine he’d developed with Sidon: dance, greet, leave. He replied with dull stories when people, friends or other, asked him about what had happened with Sidon.  _ ‘We just weren’t compatible.’ ‘Things didn’t work out.’ _ But the ache never went away. Link couldn’t deny that he missed him, missed his accent, and his smile, and his laugh. And the way he held Link when he cried. Link cried a lot more now, but there were no strong arms to comfort him, no broad chest or graphic t-shirt to dry his tears on. 

Link was rearranging his office when he found Sidon’s sketchbook. It was nestled between two gray throw pillows on the couch, the couch that Sidon might as well have taken with him. Link picked it up carefully. This sort of thing was personal, right? Like a diary. But Link was depressed and curious, and, well, it had been sitting in his office for a month now, so it was basically his.

Link flipped to the first page. That was Revali. Next was a man that Link didn’t know. Then that man and Revali. A still shot of Sidon’s living room. The woman from the balcony. Link’s eyebrows creased, he had almost forgotten her. She and Sidon were probably having the time of their lives now. He flipped to the next page. It was Zelda. Then Urbosa. Then the kitchen. Then the office. A view out the window, the bookshelves, the couch, take-out containers. Then himself. And him again. And again on the page after that. Each time he was different, and as the drawings went on, something in them changed. Maybe it was the pencil Sidon used, or the lighting in the room at the moment, or the fact that the drawings of Link started to drift from just being in the office. There was something more there, some emotion siphoned into a pencil sketch of himself. Something passionate. Link flipped and flipped and flipped until the drawings stopped. And all there was on the page was words. Sidon’s words.

_ ‘Dear Link, If you’re reading this it probably means I’m done working with you. I want you to know that I had fun and I’m not upset with you for reacting the way that you did once you found out about CHUVA. I get it. I’m hoping that you didn’t find this book immediately and that you had some time to do your own thing before reading this. But I have no control. The book is yours and the drawings are yours as well, do with them as you please. You were the model I used for my art portfolio, the one I sent in that got me accepted to college. I can’t thank you enough for that. I know I should have told you about school, but I have the feeling that that wasn’t what I was let go for. So in the case that you need answers or some sort of feelings chat from me, here goes: _

_ I do like you, Link, might even go as far as to say love. But I’m careful with where I let my heart wander. You were my business partner and seemed unsure even with yourself. I had to be wary because I didn’t want to hurt myself, but more than that, I didn’t want to hurt you. All those times I kissed you on the cheek, those were because people were looking at you and I had to let them know that you weren’t up for grabs. Not as much for the job as for my own selfish person. The date I took you on before that last gala, that was going to be my promise to you. I know the evening kinda went downhill after that. When you kissed me in my apartment, I wanted to kiss back. Then kiss you again and again until you stopped crying and smiled. Instead I probably made you cry more. I’m going away in two months; I have to live on campus for the first year of uni, and I want you to know that I’ll be thinking of you. If you ever find it in yourself to forgive me, please don’t hesitate to stop by, I’ll never get tired of seeing you. I love you, Link. Yes, I’m sure of it now. I love you, Sidon’ _

Link stared at the words on the page. He read them again, breath catching every time he got to the end. Loved him… Sidon loved him. He had to see him, had to tell him that he felt the same way as soon as he could. Link’s hands began to jitter. He turned towards the window; it was already dark outside and rain plinked the glass every so often. The logical part of Link’s brain told him to wait for morning to come, to get some sleep so he didn’t look like a zombie when he went to see Sidon, but the rest of his being told that part of his brain to stick it up its ass. Link rushed out of his office, sketchbook under his arm, and down to the ground level. He grabbed his coat and an umbrella and slipped on the closest pair of his shoes that he could find. He didn’t want to bother with a driver since their hours didn’t normally run this late, so he got an Uber. Sitting in the car, giving the driver directions, Link thought about exactly what he was doing. If it hadn’t been for the desperate, sleep deprived part of his brain, he wouldn’t have gotten this far. Now that he was en route to Sidon’s apartment, there was no turning back, no running away. Link just hoped he was home. Alone, at that. No hook up, no friends over.

The Uber driver gave him a tired smile when she pulled into Sidon’s apartment’s parking lot. He paid her and shut the door, quickly making his way to the stairs so he could get out of the rain. He reached Sidon’s door and lifted his hand to knock, shivering as the thin coat failed to keep the cold out. But his hand froze. He couldn’t knock. After coming all this way, Link was paralysed. He shifted, feeling the sketchbook warm under his armpit. Taking a deep breath, Link brought his hand down against the door. Once, twice, three times, until the shaking in his own hand forced him to stop. He gripped his arms tight around himself, from anxiety or the cold, Link would never know. He heard movement inside, and soon the door cracked open to reveal a bleary eyed Sidon.

“Link?” he croaked, voice cracking from exhaustion. 

Link only nodded, his vocal chords tying themselves in knots. The door swung open.

“Come in, come in. You must be freezing.” Sidon was wearing a tight fitted tank top and baggy sweatpants, his hair unruly from sleep. 

Link stood outside the doorway for a second, unsure. Then, making up his mind, Link rushed forward and jumped onto Sidon, who’s arms came to instinctively wrap around him, sealing his lips over the older man’s own. Sidon somehow managed to close the door and walk them over to the couch, where he sat down with Link in his lap. Link broke the kiss, panting slightly, before leaning forward and kissing him again. This time Sidon kissed back, his arms a solid presence around Link’s skinny waist. They broke the kiss again, Sidon leaning forward to bury his nose in the crook of Link’s neck as he began to pull the soaking coat off. 

“I take it you found my book,” he mouthed into Link’s skin softly, and Link hummed in conformation. 

Sidon pulled the coat off, and Link shed his wet shoes so they wouldn’t ruin the couch. Sidon pressed a kiss to his neck before straightening up and claiming his lips again. His tongue slipped out, tentatively asking for permission, and Link opened his mouth slightly, letting it in. Sidon tasted like mint toothpaste against his tongue, and Link sighed into the kiss, wrapping his arms around Sidon’s neck to deepen it further. They reluctantly broke apart for air after a few moments, and Sidon immediately went back to Link’s neck.

“Taste like strawberries,” he mumbled into Link’s skin, and Link couldn’t help the giggle that slipped from his lips. “Goddesses, I want to hold you forever. Don’t have to do any more than that, just want to hold you, and make you smile, and cook you breakfast in the morning.”

“I’d be more than okay with that,” Link said softly, kissing the top of Sidon’s head softly, and the older man’s lips were on his instantly. 

These couch kisses were so much better than the one from before, no longer something fake, but something real.

FIN  
  



	2. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sidon finished his first year of art school and comes back to spend time with Link.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From the bottom of my heart: Sorry for the wait!

“You’re gonna have to take a break year to make up for all the time you spent away from me,” Link giggled as Sidon peppered his face with kisses. 

“Excuse me, but I remember coming home every weekend to see a certain someone.”

“I don’t remember that at all, not one bit, zero percent memo-Ah, Sidon, that tickles!” 

Sidon had taken to blowing raspberries into Link’s neck to make him stop talking. They were wrapped in blankets on the older man’s couch. Even though it was June, the apartment was freezing, as Sidon’s air conditioning unit only seemed to have two settings: desert hot and arctic cold. They were still wearing their dress clothes from Sidon’s end of year ceremony, their shirts no doubt wrinkling under the pressure of each other’s bodies. 

“You _are_ planning on making up our one year anniversary that you _missed_ for a sculpture project.”

“You know I am,” Sidon answered expertly, hands squeezing Link to his chest tightly under the old, worn blanket. 

With much difficulty, Link managed to turn in his lap. “Soon, I hope, because I’m not the most patient person.” He placed a chaste kiss on Sidon’s lips before pulling back, giggling at the whine Sidon let out. He kissed the pout from the older man’s face. “I want to get dinner.” 

Sidon whined, “Can’t we just order in?”

Link pecked him on the nose. “No.”

Sidon sunk into the couch after Link hopped off of his lap and headed into the bedroom, calling over his shoulder to tell Sidon to change into something more practical. Checking the time on his phone, Sidon grumbled and peeled himself off the couch. Link had already changed into a t-shirt when Sidon reached the bedroom and was pulling on a pair of shorts. Sidon unbuttoned his blazer and threw it onto the chair in the corner of the room. 

“Where do you want to go?” Sidon asked, pulling a tank top out of the dresser. It was his favorite because of the cartoon shark and Link’s favorite because the arm holes were stretched out and hung low. 

Link tossed a pair of shorts at Sidon’s head, and the other man caught them right before getting hit. “I was thinking we could go to that pizza place. The one from the first time you took me out. Well, the first real time you took me out,” Link teased. 

“I thought we were over that whole ‘I got paid to date you’ thing. You’re really not gonna let that go.”

“Not a chance,” Link threw a haughty look over his shoulder and left the bedroom, leaving Sidon to finish changing on his own. 

“Anyone else you want to invite?” Sidon asked as he locked the apartment door behind him. “Revali and Daruk are home and Zelda should be off, right?”

Link nodded. “She is but I just want this to be us. We can hang out with them all tomorrow. Tonight, just you and me.”

Sidon smiled and unlocked his car. “I’m not complaining.” The engine started on Sidon’s second try, which was pretty good considering how old it was, and Sidon’s new music started playing. Link wanted to strangle whoever (Revali) had introduced his boyfriend to modern pop because now instead of Queen, Sidon belted Beyoncé as they got on the ramp to the highway, windows rolled down all the way without a care in the world.

Batreaux hugged Sidon for nearly three minutes. Link knew because he was standing to the side awkwardly, checking his phone every couple of seconds so he didn’t look completely out of place. Batreaux did give him a hug after he let Sidon go. He smelled like pizza dough and tomato sauce, and Link’s stomach picked that incredibly inconvenient time to remind Link that he hadn’t eaten all day.

Batreaux let him go with a chuckle. “I’ll send extra rolls and olive oil up to your table.”

Link smiled sheepishly and thanked Batreaux in advance. With one more firm pat on Sidon’s shoulder, the restaurant owner headed back into the kitchen. Sidon escorted Link to their usual booth and slid into the bench across from him. Link had never seen their server before, but Sidon knew her well and asked about her husband and daughter. The woman, Wryna, replied enthusiastically, telling Sidon that her daughter had just begun first grade and was a bit too smart for her own good. Sidon smiled warmly and placed their drink order. Link tucked into the bread as soon as the basket hit the table. Sidon looked at him fondly, his cheek rested on his hand. 

“What?” Link managed through a mouthful of homemade rye. “It’s good.”

Sidon held his hands up in front of him. “I didn’t say anything.” He picked up the menu and flipped to the pizza page. “Are we gonna go with the usual?”

“I want mushrooms.”

“I thought you hated mushrooms!”

“No, I just need the right circumstances to want to eat them.”

“Yeah, alright, that makes a lot of sense.”

“I did not come here for you to make fun of me. I will walk out that door right now.”

“Will you now?”

“Watch me.”

Link grabbed the two remaining rolls out of the basket, stood, and left the restaurant with a dramatic flourish. It only took two minutes for Sidon to pull his phone out of his pocket to text Link.

To Linkle<3

    _Please come back_

_You took all the bread_

From Linkle<3

    _You are weak_

To Linkle<3

    _No I just don’t like looking like a total loser_

From Linkle<3

_You always look like a total loser_

To Linkle<3

    _Ouch_

_Come back or I’m ordering the pizza without mushrooms_

The bell over the door rang as Link came back inside and made his way back to the booth. 

“That’s not fair,” Link said matter-of-factly as he slid into his seat. “You can’t do that.”

“My dear Linky, I believe I _did_ do that.” Sidon leaned over the table to press a kiss to Link’s lips. 

Link blushed, “Don’t call me that.”

“Linky? Linky bear? Linkley? Linkle of my eye? Link of my life?” 

“None of those! What the hell even were those?”

“The new nicknames I’m going to be using. I wonder which one will drive you crazy the quickest.”

“Let’s not find out.”

“Where’s the fun in that?”

Wryna came with their drinks, and Sidon placed their pizza order, making sure to add mushrooms at the last possible moment just to get a rise out of Link. They spent the wait talking about their time apart. Link learned that Sidon’s roommate had taken one of Sidon’s shirts without telling him and turned it into his final project. Of course, Sidon was too good-natured to be mad at him for it. Link told Sidon the details of Urbosa and Zelda’s engagement and about the time Revali and Daruk had snuck into the Tower to decorate his office for his birthday. As much as Link loved them for throwing him a little party, he couldn’t help but be sad when he had to get the stepstool out to get decorations off the bookshelves. 

The pizza was steaming hot and gone in no time. Sidon paid, and Link tipped generously. There were no leftovers so the two bypassed the old car and walked hand in hand to the bank of Lake Hylia. Link joined Sidon as the older man began to skip rocks. In Sidon’s absence, Link had frequented the lake and taught himself the skill. Sidon cheered when one of Link’s jumped five times before sinking beneath the crystal clear water. They watched the sunset over the city skyline from the bench by the shore, Link tucked under Sidon’s arm. The night air was warm and muggy, and the sounds of the city and crickets and frogs near the lake filled the air as Sidon’s lips found Link’s. Link didn’t know how long they sat there, just kissing. Eventually the background noise fell away, and all Link could sense was Sidon. The smoothness of his lips, the callouses on the hand cupping his cheek, the heat of his breath when they pulled apart for a second between kisses. 

The sky was black when they pulled apart for the final time, and Link could just barely make out the stars over the lake. The light from the city blocked out most of them. Sidon held Link to his side tightly, and Link rested his head on Sidon’s shoulder. The ruckus of the world seemed to fall away when Sidon pressed a kiss to his temple and whispered as quietly as he dared.

“I love you.”

LA FIN RÉELLE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has been sitting in my Google Docs forever and I finally decided to post it. Now it's finished.

**Author's Note:**

> Well I wrote this in under a week during finals. Be proud of me, I don't think I failed. If you guys liked it, give me some love with the kudos button and in the comments section! <3 Superspooky


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